What is a suspension and a permanent exclusion?

A suspension, (also known as a fixed term exclusion) means that a pupil is not allowed to attend school for a set number of days or for part of the school day, such as lunch time.  

A pupil may be suspended for one or more fixed periods of time, up to a maximum of 45 school days in an academic year.  

A permanent exclusion is when a pupil is when a pupil is no longer allowed to attend the school.  

Permanent exclusion should only happen in response to – 

• a serious breach or persistent breaches of the school’s behaviour policy  

and 

• where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others such as staff or pupils in the school  

Only the headteacher can suspend or permanently exclude a pupil on disciplinary grounds.  

The pupils views should be taken into account before a decision is made, unless it would not be appropriate to do so. The decision must be reasonable, fair and proportionate.  

Where suspensions are becoming a regular occurrence, schools should consider whether suspension alone is an effective sanction for the pupil and whether additional strategies need to be put in place to address behaviour.  

Education during a suspension or exclusion

The guidance states that it is important that during a suspension, pupils still receive their education.  

Headteachers should take steps to ensure that work is set and marked, and marked for pupils during the first 5 days of a suspension.  

For a suspension of more than five school days, the governing board must arrange suitable full-time education for any pupil of compulsory school age, this must be begin no later than the sixth school day.  

For any permanent exclusion, headteachers should take reasonable steps to ensure that work is set and marked for pupils during the first five school days (where the pupil will not be attending alternative provision). The local authority must arrange suitable full-time education for the pupil to begin from the sixth school day after the first day the permanent exclusion took place.

Informing parents about an exclusion

When a child has been suspended or permanently excluded, the school must inform parents of their decision. This has to be done without delay and no later than 3 days after the decision was made. 

Schools also have to give parents other key pieces of information, this includes; the reasons for the decision, how long a suspension will last, rights about making representations to the governors (this means how you can share your views with the governors about the suspension or permanent exclusion) and in circumstances where the governors have to have a meeting, your right to attend the meeting and bring someone with you.  

Reintegration

Following a suspension, schools should arrange a reintegration meeting to support a pupil to reintegrate successfully into school life. Where possible the meeting should include parents. The guidance says that a pupil should not be prevented from returning to a mainstream classroom if parents are unable or unwilling to attend the meeting.  

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and suspensions

Schools must use their best endeavours to make sure a child with SEND gets the special educational provision they need. This means doing everything that can be reasonably expected. (This specific duty does not apply to independent schools or special schools).   

The Equality Act 2010 says that for disabled pupils, schools must make reasonable adjustments to avoid disadvantage. This includes changes to policies and the provision of auxiliary aids and services. Schools must also have regard for the SEND Code of Practice, (statutory guidance for those working with children and young people with SEND). 

Schools should engage proactively with parents in supporting the behaviour of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Where a school has concerns about behaviour or risk of suspension and permanent exclusion, it should, in partnership with others (including where relevant, the local authority), consider what additional support or alternative placement may be required. This should involve assessing the suitability of provision for a pupil’s SEN or disability.

For children receiving SEN Support, the school should review, with external specialists as appropriate, whether the current support arrangements are appropriate and what changes might be needed. This guidance says that this may provide a point for schools to request an EHC needs assessment or a review of the current package of support.

Where a child has an EHCP, the school should contact the local authority about any behavioural concerns at an early stage and they can consider an early review of the EHCP, prior to making the decision to suspend or permanently exclude. You can also ask for an early review, for example if you feel your child’s needs have changed or that the support in the plan is no longer meeting their needs.  

Please see our information pages about SEN Support and EHCP’s for further information. 

Governing body responsibilities

Governing boards have a key responsibility in considering whether excluded pupils should be reinstated.  

The governing board must consider and decide on the reinstatement of a suspended
or permanently excluded pupil within 15 school days of receiving notice of a
suspension or permanent exclusion from the headteacher if: 

• it is a permanent exclusion; 

• it is a suspension which would bring the pupil’s total number of school days out of
  school to more than 15 in a term; or 

• it would result in the pupil missing a public examination or national curriculum test 

Where a pupil has been suspended for more than 5 but less than 16 school days in a term, parents can make representations if they choose to and when they do, the governing board must consider and decide within 50 school days of receiving the notice of suspension whether the suspended pupil should be reinstated. If no representations are made by parents, the governing board is not required to meet and cannot direct the reinstatement of the pupil. 

Where the governing body are legally required to consider reinstating a pupil, they must share their decision in writing with parents, the head teacher and the local authority, without delay. 

If the exclusion is for less than 5 days, parents can make representations and the governing board must consider these, but the governing board do not have the authority to reinstate the pupil in this circumstance.  

Independent Review Panel

If the school governors uphold the schools decision to permanently exclude a pupil, parents have the right to request an independent review of the exclusion. This meeting is known as an Independent Review Panel (IRP) and will review the decision of the governing body.  

Parents have 15 school days to request an IRP (from the date the notice of the governing board decision not to reinstate was received reinstate). The legal time frame is different in situations where a claim of Disability Discrimination has been made against the school’s decision to exclude.   

Parents can request that SEN expert attends the IRP, regardless of if the child is identified by the school as having SEND. An SEN expert is someone with experience and expertise with SEND including the legal requirements on schools who impartial to the exclusion.  

If a pupil is excluded and parents don’t want to challenge the exclusion but are not happy with the way it was handled, they can follow the school complaints process which can be found on the schools website or by contacting the school. 

What is direction off site?

Off-site direction is when a child is required to attend another education setting to improve their behaviour. Although the legislation does not apply to academies, they can arrange off-site provision under their general powers. 

The guidance says that off site direction should be used to arrange time limited placements at an alternative provision or another mainstream school, where interventions or targeted support have not been successful in improving behaviour.

What is a managed move?

A managed move is a voluntary process where a pupil is transferred to another mainstream school permanently. The guidance says that if a temporary move needs to happen to improve a pupil’s behaviour, then offsite direction should be used.  Managed moves should be offered as part of a planned intervention and the original school should be able to evidence that appropriate initial intervention has been carried out, this includes multi-agency support (where relevant). 

Where a pupil has an EHC plan, when the current school are considering a managed move, it should contact the authority prior to the managed move. If the local authority, both schools and parents are in agreement that there should be a managed move, the local authority has to follow the statutory procedures for amending an EHC Plan.

SEND Tribunal

The SEND Tribunal can hear claims of disability discrimination by a school under the Equality Act 2010, this includes school suspensions and exclusions where a child has a disability. The SEND Tribunal has the power to order reinstatement (remove the suspension).  

For more information about claims of Disability Discrimination, please see our information page. 

You can find out more information about suspensions and exclusions by;

Reading the statutory guidance 

Visiting the IPSEA website  

 Contacting SENDIASS, we can discuss your individual circumstances and offer information, advice and support about exclusions